LANGKAWI: The positive outlook on Malaysia’s economy by international rating agencies and financial institutions has debunked the lies propagated by opposition parties that the country is going bankrupt.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Economic Forum (WEF), Standard & Poor's, Fitch Ratings acknowledged and recognised the Malaysian government’s capability in managing the country’s economy.
He said the Barisan Nasional (BN) government had proven the opposition wrong by steering the country’s economy to post a 5.9 per cent growth in 2017, while the ringgit had emerged as the best performing currency by appreciating from RM4.49 for one United States dollar to RM3.59 in the past several months.
On Wednesday, Bank Negara Malaysia announced that the Malaysian economic growth remained strong at 5.9 per cent as of the end of 2017.
Najib said the new high export value of RM83.5 billion recorded in November was yet another crucial milestone in the country’s economic growth which also dismissed the opposition's criticism on the government.
"Clearly, these are not the criteria of a bankrupt nation ... If the country is going bankrupt, the Prime Minister would not have the guts to go down to the ground and the Indian community here would not be able to put forward requests for the betterment of the people.
"If we (the nation) is going bankrupt, definitely the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund would not sing praises on Malaysia’s achievement. Instead they would have come up with all the negative remarks.
"There was not a single international agency and financial institution which had come up with a report saying that we are going bankrupt," he said.
Najib said this in his speech in a gathering with 1,000 Indian community at Dewan MIC Kampung Kisap here today.
Present was Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah, Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, Langkawi member of Parliament Datuk Ir Nawawi Ahmad, Kedah MIC chairman Datuk Jaspal Singh and Langkawi MIC division chief V. Nagaiah.
In a related note, Najib reminded the people that if they wanted continuity in the country’s development, right down to the state and regional level, they should retain the existing government which had proven its worth in transforming the nation.
He said this was unlike certain parties that are making all sort of empty promises.
"If we look at one new opposition party, they are bickering among themselves.. If you read in the newspapers and social media, everyday there is a new report lodged with the RoS (Registrar of Societies) and at the same time former leaders who left the party are exposing all sorts of discrepancies in the party.
"Is this the party that is capable of steering the country forward? Who is better? You may ask yourself for the right answer.. It is clear that the people in Langkawi realised that only in BN (Barisan Nasional) they could trust," he said.
Najib also urged the Indian community in the country to place their “nambike” (confidence/faith) in the BN as the only party capable of ruling the country.
He said the community should place their confidence in BN’s capability based on the concept of “naalai namathey, naalum namathey”, which means “tomorrow is ours, the future is ours”.
“The choice is yours. I don’t have to elaborate because the people in Langkawi know better. The Indians in Langkawi know very well that BN is the only party they can place their trust in,” he said.
